Thoughts on a visit to Second Life...
Before I begin, this is a rather a-typical entry for me to make but I feel it's something that merits the space.
Having said that:
I've seen a lot of posts in There's forums lately where members voice concerns over There's future, comparing There to Second Life, and, of course, suggesting that we "catch up with second life". I've been in There about ten months now, but I have also tried Second Life in that time. I want to say it was at least half a year ago. I was giving a newbie the grand tour of There and, as it turns out, she was a Second Life resident. She wanted to return the favor by showing me around Second Life. I tried (but failed) to turn down her offer, as I really didn't care to try out Second Life; I was enjoying There plenty. A lifetime membership then was $5, with a 1 week trial (credit card required). So I tried it for the full week, had some fun, but in the end decided it wasn't worth the five dollars. So I happily returned home to There and didn't think another thought about it until just recently.
Reading and hearing so many complaints about There vs. Second Life, I began wondering if there is something to what these people are screaming about. So, three or four days ago I signed up for Second Life which is now free as everyone I'm sure knows (credit card still required). My first thought as I appear in-world: Ack! I forgot how stiff-necked these avatars look! My second thought: Who walks like this anyway?! My third thought: Oh yeah.. I can fly!
Having tried Second Life for a few days now, the way the avatars stand and move about haunts me constantly. I just can't get over it. I started to do some exploring, but truth be told it's very difficult to explore in Second Life. Textures can take forever and a day to download and buildings take minutes to fully appear. You can actually fly inside a building without realizing it and have a wall appear in front of you. Then while you're rubbing your nose the ceiling appears and traps you in. It is also very choppy graphics-wise, and no amount of fussing with the graphics settings would fix that. Now my machine is a pretty darn good machine, if I do say so myself. AMD Athlon XP 3200, 1 gig of RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro w/ 256 megs of RAM. So, I gave up on exploring.
I decided to try building, which I had not done the first time around. I have to say, this is the one thing about Second Life that really amazes me. The fact that you can build and script to create almost anything you can imagine is just incredible. It does have limitations, however. Vehicle handling is terrible by comparison to what we have in There. I know I just couldn’t live without my freestyle board and the insane death-defying tricks it allows me to do. You can do tricks on a board in Second Life as well, but the fluidness of motion and the ease with which you execute chain after chain of tricks in There is absolutely unparalleled. There gives us all these vehicles which are designed to handle well and be fun. Second Life’s vehicles are created entirely by members with no professional experience in scripting those kinds of objects in a virtual world. So anyways, I plopped a shape down on the ground and began molding it. I tried making a telescope out of a cone I had dropped, but that didn't work out so well. So I made a bubble and wore it. My anti-lag bubble :) No, it didn’t work. I watched others creating these amazing structures then adding animation to them and it awed me. It really is something. And it doesn't cost a thing, unless you upload a texture, which is (and I may be mistaken) 10L? I think that comes out to a few pennies in USD.
Lag. To expand upon that: lots of lag. Second Life has lag much worse than There. If you fly too fast you'll wind up going right through the next mountain, rubberband a bit, then hop backwards and smash your face into it. If you try to land too quickly, you go straight through the ground and end up doing a little hopping dance and can’t land. That is apparently a fairly common occurrence. Only way to fix it is to relog. Flying vehicles cause a tremendous amount of lag. Ever been on a yacht club flotilla? All those boats in one area causes a significant amount of lag, but believe me there's no comparison to what Second Life will do to you.
I met someone who helped me out a bit, showed me a few tricks and how to do simple things like add a landmark. She had tried There on the three day trial and hated it. Among the list of complaints, she claims Second Life has better people. If you read through these forums and read all the drama, I'd have to agree. But in-world, I have never known nicer folk than those I have met in There. We have a real community atmosphere in-world which, sadly, seems to get lost much of the time in the forums.
Second Life also has its own social scene. It allows for a great deal of avatar customization. Pretty much anything you can imagine your avatar looking like can be made into reality. You’re also able to create custom emotes (hugs). But, in my opinion, the appeal of such things is all but destroyed by the avatars themselves. Their bodies are too rigid. They do change stances if you stand still, but it is not at all fluid and looks unnatural. The camera also defaults to a position rather far away from your avatar. While this allows you to see more people in your view, you can’t see enough detail on their avatars. Facial expressions are completely lost. I much more prefer There’s chat groups.
Another big thing Second Life has going for it is money. Almost every newbie in There asks “how do I make money?” And then we have to tell them the bad news. Try and explain to someone you know who doesn’t play There how much money you spend on pixels. In Second Life most people create things and sell them to make their money. Plus, even the free accounts have a weekly, though small, allowance (provided you log in).
Far be it from me to argue, There does have its bugs that need to be worked out (Sorry, we are still getting data for your request) and a long list of features that we are still waiting for, but good things come to those who wait. I have been here a relatively short period of time by comparison to some, yet even I have seen great additions to our world: New islands, features, bug fixes, level-up gifts and content. All these things have happened and will continue to happen.
To all those who threaten to leave if There isn’t immediately tailored to your whims: Leave. You’ll be back. Once you see other virtual worlds and realize how good we have it by comparison, you’ll come home. In fact, I suggest that everyone reading this give Second Life a try, just to see for yourself what I mean. Those who began in Second Life are able to look past its shortcomings and enjoy the wonderful features unique to their world. But as for me, I was spoiled by There.
To the There staff: You’re doing a bang-up job! Thank you!!
To everyone else reading this: Thank you for your ears.. eyes?
Having said that:
I've seen a lot of posts in There's forums lately where members voice concerns over There's future, comparing There to Second Life, and, of course, suggesting that we "catch up with second life". I've been in There about ten months now, but I have also tried Second Life in that time. I want to say it was at least half a year ago. I was giving a newbie the grand tour of There and, as it turns out, she was a Second Life resident. She wanted to return the favor by showing me around Second Life. I tried (but failed) to turn down her offer, as I really didn't care to try out Second Life; I was enjoying There plenty. A lifetime membership then was $5, with a 1 week trial (credit card required). So I tried it for the full week, had some fun, but in the end decided it wasn't worth the five dollars. So I happily returned home to There and didn't think another thought about it until just recently.
Reading and hearing so many complaints about There vs. Second Life, I began wondering if there is something to what these people are screaming about. So, three or four days ago I signed up for Second Life which is now free as everyone I'm sure knows (credit card still required). My first thought as I appear in-world: Ack! I forgot how stiff-necked these avatars look! My second thought: Who walks like this anyway?! My third thought: Oh yeah.. I can fly!
Having tried Second Life for a few days now, the way the avatars stand and move about haunts me constantly. I just can't get over it. I started to do some exploring, but truth be told it's very difficult to explore in Second Life. Textures can take forever and a day to download and buildings take minutes to fully appear. You can actually fly inside a building without realizing it and have a wall appear in front of you. Then while you're rubbing your nose the ceiling appears and traps you in. It is also very choppy graphics-wise, and no amount of fussing with the graphics settings would fix that. Now my machine is a pretty darn good machine, if I do say so myself. AMD Athlon XP 3200, 1 gig of RAM, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro w/ 256 megs of RAM. So, I gave up on exploring.
I decided to try building, which I had not done the first time around. I have to say, this is the one thing about Second Life that really amazes me. The fact that you can build and script to create almost anything you can imagine is just incredible. It does have limitations, however. Vehicle handling is terrible by comparison to what we have in There. I know I just couldn’t live without my freestyle board and the insane death-defying tricks it allows me to do. You can do tricks on a board in Second Life as well, but the fluidness of motion and the ease with which you execute chain after chain of tricks in There is absolutely unparalleled. There gives us all these vehicles which are designed to handle well and be fun. Second Life’s vehicles are created entirely by members with no professional experience in scripting those kinds of objects in a virtual world. So anyways, I plopped a shape down on the ground and began molding it. I tried making a telescope out of a cone I had dropped, but that didn't work out so well. So I made a bubble and wore it. My anti-lag bubble :) No, it didn’t work. I watched others creating these amazing structures then adding animation to them and it awed me. It really is something. And it doesn't cost a thing, unless you upload a texture, which is (and I may be mistaken) 10L? I think that comes out to a few pennies in USD.
Lag. To expand upon that: lots of lag. Second Life has lag much worse than There. If you fly too fast you'll wind up going right through the next mountain, rubberband a bit, then hop backwards and smash your face into it. If you try to land too quickly, you go straight through the ground and end up doing a little hopping dance and can’t land. That is apparently a fairly common occurrence. Only way to fix it is to relog. Flying vehicles cause a tremendous amount of lag. Ever been on a yacht club flotilla? All those boats in one area causes a significant amount of lag, but believe me there's no comparison to what Second Life will do to you.
I met someone who helped me out a bit, showed me a few tricks and how to do simple things like add a landmark. She had tried There on the three day trial and hated it. Among the list of complaints, she claims Second Life has better people. If you read through these forums and read all the drama, I'd have to agree. But in-world, I have never known nicer folk than those I have met in There. We have a real community atmosphere in-world which, sadly, seems to get lost much of the time in the forums.
Second Life also has its own social scene. It allows for a great deal of avatar customization. Pretty much anything you can imagine your avatar looking like can be made into reality. You’re also able to create custom emotes (hugs). But, in my opinion, the appeal of such things is all but destroyed by the avatars themselves. Their bodies are too rigid. They do change stances if you stand still, but it is not at all fluid and looks unnatural. The camera also defaults to a position rather far away from your avatar. While this allows you to see more people in your view, you can’t see enough detail on their avatars. Facial expressions are completely lost. I much more prefer There’s chat groups.
Another big thing Second Life has going for it is money. Almost every newbie in There asks “how do I make money?” And then we have to tell them the bad news. Try and explain to someone you know who doesn’t play There how much money you spend on pixels. In Second Life most people create things and sell them to make their money. Plus, even the free accounts have a weekly, though small, allowance (provided you log in).
Far be it from me to argue, There does have its bugs that need to be worked out (Sorry, we are still getting data for your request) and a long list of features that we are still waiting for, but good things come to those who wait. I have been here a relatively short period of time by comparison to some, yet even I have seen great additions to our world: New islands, features, bug fixes, level-up gifts and content. All these things have happened and will continue to happen.
To all those who threaten to leave if There isn’t immediately tailored to your whims: Leave. You’ll be back. Once you see other virtual worlds and realize how good we have it by comparison, you’ll come home. In fact, I suggest that everyone reading this give Second Life a try, just to see for yourself what I mean. Those who began in Second Life are able to look past its shortcomings and enjoy the wonderful features unique to their world. But as for me, I was spoiled by There.
To the There staff: You’re doing a bang-up job! Thank you!!
To everyone else reading this: Thank you for your ears.. eyes?
Forever There,
Jon_Quixote
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